Stefan and Elena in the Rain
by stefanswarner
Summary: After a date, Stefan and Elena walk home and find themselves caught in a rainstorm.


The sound of piano music drifted into the room, the soft notes completing the near perfect atmosphere as Stefan gazed over the table at Elena. They were finishing dinner- well, Elena was finishing. Stefan's plate was already clean, and instead he occupied himself with admiring the sight before him.

"You're doing it again." Elena pointed out, the corners of her lips turning up.

"Hm?" Stefan questioned, as if being jolted awake.

"The staring thing," Elena explained, "As cute as it is.."

"Sorry." Stefan apologized, looking down at the tablecloth, mildly embarrassed. "It's just still so hard to believe."

"What is?"

"That you're _here_. With _me_."

Elena smiled softly again, and reached across the table to squeeze Stefan's hand. "Where else would I be?"

"You were gone for so long. We weren't sure when or if you'd wake up. Sometimes it's still such a shock." Stefan explained, and finally met Elena's warm brown eyes.

"I'm here now. Here forever." She promised him, and watched him relax a bit.

"How's the food?" He asked, hoping to change the topic to something lighter. Elena took this as an opportunity to shovel another mouthful of food into her mouth, ready to give Stefan a full review when she was done chewing.

As she swallowed the food, however, she began to cough. When she continued to cough, and reached for her water, Stefan grew concerned. He stood from his seat, rushing to Elena's side as she gulped the water down. With a hand on her back, he asked if she was alright in a panicked, hushed voice.

Elena finally managed to catch her breath and nodded before answering out loud, "Yes, yes Stefan I'm fine." She assured him. She loved him for being so worried, but she'd noticed this being an often occurrence since she'd turned human again. Stefan jumped and panicked at every little thing that could even have a possibility of being dangerous for Elena. She supposed it made sense. She hadn't even been human a full 24 hours last time before she had been forced into a magically induced coma for years. Stefan had always been protective, but she didn't want him worrying over her every second. After all, she'd learned a thing or two about survival and taking care of herself since the last time she was human.

Still, she knew his intentions were as pure as always, so she said nothing. With the food on her plate gone, Stefan paid the bill with a generous tip for the waiter and soon they were out the door. They had walked there when it was still daylight, but now the sun was mostly down. There was only a faint glow to the night sky, but it was a perfect setting otherwise. A cool breeze brushed over them as they took their first steps out of the restaurant, and Elena's hair blew back ever so slightly.

"Should I run and get the car? You must be tired-" Stefan offered, but Elena hushed him.

"I'm perfectly fine." She assured him, "Actually, I think it's the perfect night for a walk."

Stefan seemed to agree, as he laced his finger's with his girlfriend's and they began to wander away from the restaurant and back through the town. It was a quiet night, everyone seemed to be indoors. This made Stefan and Elena's walk all the more intimate, they were able to talk freely about anything and everything- and they did. They had spent the majority of their time together since Elena had woken up, yet they never ran out of things to talk about or stories to tell. Before long, Stefan had Elena laughing so hard her sides ached. He smiled to himself, he had missed that sound. He never planned on taking advantage of it again.

Clouds had begun to gather in the sky, neither Stefan or Elena noticed until drips of rain had already begun to fall from the sky. Neither bothered to note the rain as it came down in a drizzle, but soon the light drops turned into a heavy and steady patter of rain.

Cursing, Stefan gestures to a row of restaurants across from where they stood. "Why don't you go inside somewhere, I'll go get the car. I don't want you getting sick-"

"It's fine." Elena told Stefan, but he continued to ramble on.

"It's pouring, a storm could start-"

"Stefan." Elena said his name, laughing a bit. "It's just rain."

Stefan saw the look of amusement on Elena's face and realized she was right. He supposed be was being a bit over dramatic.

"Sorry." He apologized, and Elena shook her head.

"Don't apologize," She told him, "It's sweet. I love you for caring. It's just, ever since I woke up as a human, it's been a little...much."

"I know." Stefan admitted, sighing. "I'm sorry. It's hard, I guess. Knowing how vulnerable we are again- how vulnerable you are. As much as I hated being a vampire, and I know you did too, then we were guaranteed a little more safety. Now everything just feels more.."

"Dangerous?" Elena finished for him. He nodded. "It's stupid.."

"It's not." Elena disagreed. "But I promise, nothing is going to happen to me."

"That's just it, Elena, you don't know that. You've been hurt so many times when everything was out of our control. Sometimes even when I could have controlled it."

Elena's brows knitted together at Stefan's last statement. He wouldn't meet her eyes suddenly, and suddenly seemed to be in a rush. Despite the rain that was beginning to fall at an even faster pace, Elena stopped Stefan in the middle of the street.

"Stefan." she said his name, and he looked at her. "You can't blame yourself for anything that happened to me before. You know that, don't you?"

"Maybe," Stefan agreed, "but what about not being able to save you from it?"

"Is that what this is about?" Elena questioned, a note of surprised disbelief in her voice. "Stefan, there was never anything you could've done that you didn't do."

Stefan nodded, but his guilt ridden expression betrayed his thoughts. Elena placed her hands on either side of Stefan's face, and he seemed to relax slightly at her touch.

"None of that matters now. I'm here, Stefan. Just like I said, I'm here forever. I know I'm safe because I've got you." She told him, and he smiled. "and you've got me."

Stefan finally seemed to relax fully. The rain was coming down in sheets now, and Elena laughed as she looked up at the sky. They were both drenched, but she couldn't care less.

"Besides," she smirked, and moved her hands from his face to wrap around his fingers. "A little rain never hurt anyone."

She pulled him towards the middle of the street, and he happily followed. Elena pulled him closer, until he could see the raindrops glistening in her hair.

"Now, I know you hate this, but.." Before Elena could even finish, Stefan had swept her into his arms. One hand on her hip, another in her hand. Elena gripped Stefan's shoulder, grinning wildly.

"I never hated dancing if it was with you." Stefan clarified. With that, and without any music, the two began to waltz. There was no mention or care of how ridiculous they must look. It was just them, in the streets they called their home, in the arms they called home. Elena laughed and Stefan spun her around, lifting her off the ground. Finally he dipped her backwards, and pressed his lips to hers. It was soft at first, then Elena wrapped an arm around his neck and the kiss deepened. Their lips found a rhythm, a dance of their own. His hands were in her dripping hair, and hers wrapped around his waist.

When Stefan finally broke away from the kiss, Elena smiled up at him, her eyes filled with adoration.

"Oh," her eyes traveled from Stefan's face to the sky, "the rain. It's slowing down. It must be clearing up."

"It certainly is." Stefan agreed, not speaking about the weather in the slightest.


End file.
